CAPE TOWN, 19 June 2001
The Minister of Transport, Dullah Omar is expected to highlight key achievements for the year 2000/2001 in his Budget Vote Speech in Parliament this afternoon. Omar, who delivers his speech at 16H00, is expected to also outline the actions the Department of Transport has already taken or are in the process of taking with regard to Presidential Lead projects. This includes a particular focus on urban renewal and integrated rural development.
Minister Omar is likely to give an update on the expansion of commuter rail infrastructure and the development of urban modal interchanges. In spite of incidents of violence reported in Umtata since the weekend, Omar will describe the encouraging progress being made in the taxi industry in terms of its transformation particularly the democratisation and the economic empowerment processes.
He will then address the critical issue of infrastructure underfunding. Infrastructure is one of the key projects identified by the President in his State of the Nation Address. Following from this, Omar will make some suggestions on how to achieve a better competitive balance between road and rail, and will outline a strategy for combating overloading. Month of June has been declared Aviation Safety Month and in this context, the Minister is expected to briefly discuss improvements in the civil aviation environment in general.
Top priority in the Transport Budget Vote Speech will be Safety – safety in the air and at sea, safety on our rail and road networks. Minister Omar will sketch out a number of the key technical and regulatory improvements that that are being introduced to enhance rail, maritime and aviation safety, and then will shift his focus to road safety. He is expected to explain how the Arrive Alive campaign is being beefed up to function as a year-round, 7-day-a-week, 24-hour-a-day programme.
Omar will possibly announce the upcoming launch of the Road Traffic Infringement Agency and the Road Traffic Management Corporation. He is also expected to give notice of the impending release a comprehensive new road safety strategy, The Road to Safety, 2001-2005.
Statement on behalf of the Minister of Transport, Dullah Omar
ISSUED BY:
Mike Mabasa
HEAD: Media Liaison and Corporate Communication
MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT